The NHS watchdog, NICE, has rejected a fast-acting ketamine-like anti-depressant spray that can lift mood within hours. Although Scotland is yet to issue guidance. NICE stated that there were too many uncertainties about the correlation between the price and clinical benefits of esketamine. It is licensed as a therapy for people with hard-to-treat depression. However,
New treatment for patients with multiple myeloma will now be available on the NHS in England. Darzalex was approved by NICE in combination with two other drugs, bortezomib and dexamethasone, after the treatment was found to extend the time that patients lived without their cancer getting worse. The combination will be paid for through the Cancer Drugs Fundand will
NICE and PHE have published draft guidance on antimicrobial prescribing for hospital-acquired and community-acquired pneumonia, setting out a strategy designed to optimise antibiotic use and cut down on antibiotic resistance. The guidelines advise that antibiotics should be given to people with community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia within four hours of an established diagnosis. NICE also provided
A pioneering, non-invasive procedure to repair faulty valves in the heart has been approved by NICE for use on the NHS. Previously, patients needing mitral valve repair have only had the option to undergo open heart surgery and is often deemed too risky for those considered elderly or frail. The new procedure will be performed
The MS Society has begun a petition calling for NICE, NHS England and drug manufacturer, Roche, to rethink NICE’s decision to reject the first treatment to be licensed for the treatment of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). NICE announced in September that it would not be making ocrelizumab for PPMS available on the NHS in
A green light has been given for lung cancer drug Keytruda by NICE for the treatment for certain patients in England. Merck, Sharp, and Dohme (MSD)’s Keytruda will be available for those with previously untreated metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), where tumours have specific protein and genetic markers. Keytruda is the first treatment
NICE has turned down NHS funding for Roche’s Alecensa as a first-line treatment for lung cancer. The public regulatory body denied the drug for untreated ALK-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults. Alecensa was approved Europe late last year after Phase III trial data showed median progression-free survival of 25.7 months for people given
Eisai announced that NICE has given a positive recommendation for the use of lenvatinib in combination with everolimus to treat adults with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following one prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy, if their Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score is 0 or 1. The company also provides lenvatinib
It is starting to look highly unlikely that patients with giant cell arteritis will gain NHS access to Roche’s Roactemra, due to the drug being turned down by cost regulators in draft guidelines. NICE’s appraisal committee has emphasised “substantial uncertainties” in the evidence on how long patients would have to take the treatment and what
NHS England and Roche have confirmed a confidential commercial agreement on the price of Perjeta for certain patients with breast cancer. NHS England has stated that the agreement will allow NICE to carry out the final stage of its appraisal for the drug “and opens the way for continued access to this important treatment for
